White vinyl fences are clean, low-maintenance, and long-lasting, but they tend to leave something to be desired in the interest department. When a homeowner grew tired of her basic backyard fence, she reached out to the team at Ask This Old House for help. With fast-growing arborvitae variations in tow, landscape contractor Lee Gilliam knew just what to do.
How to Plant an Arborvitae Row
- If you have other features in the yard, such as garden beds or other plant rows, measure their distances from the fence so you can match the aesthetic with the new arborvitae.
- Use a tape measure and marking paint to measure and mark the distance of the new bed from the fence.
- Within the marked area, use a gas-powered sod cutter to cut through the roots of the grass so it’s easy to remove. Rake and remove the grass from the soil.
- Use a gas-powered roto tiller to dig down into the soil within the bed. This will loosen up the packed dirt, introduce oxygen into the soil, and make planting easier.
- Spread fertilizer and compost in the bed and turn the soil to mix it into the ground.
- Measure your arborvitae’s root ball (height and width) and dig a hole about twice as wide and about 1 inch less deep.
- Remove the plants from their containers and scratch the roots loose on the sides with the hand cultivator.
- Place the tree in the hole. The top of the rootball should sit about an inch higher than the soil around it. Backfill the hole with soil, fertilizer, and compost.
- Repeat the entire process at your desired spacing. Arborvitae planted approximately 5 to 6 feet from one another will grow into a thick, consistent hedge.
- Spread organic mulch around the garden bed. Aim for a depth of about 2 inches.
- Water the new row once a day for two weeks so the roots can spread and establish themselves.
Pro Tip: Roger, the This Old House landscape contractor, offers two key planting tips: “I always like to loosen up the outside of the root system to make it easier for the roots to grow out,” and “always put the best side towards the front.” That “money side” should face the direction from which the hedge will be most visible.
Materials
Tools
A gas-powered roto-tiller can be rented to aerate and break up the soil to make it easier to prepare for planting the arborvitae.
As This Old House landscape expert Lee explains, rototilling loosens compacted soil and lets oxygen penetrate, which helps new plantings establish roots more quickly. The tiller’s blades dig down into the earth, making it much easier to work with when you’re ready to plant. Pull the machine back toward you in steady passes across the entire planting area for the best results.
Pro Tip: Roger Cook, This Old House landscape contractor, recommends renting a sod cutter to clear the planting area first: “A sod cutter is thorough and efficient, and homeowners can easily rent the machine.” Around existing trees, he advises working by hand with a spade to avoid damaging roots.
Resources
Trees
- Green Giant, an arborvitae, the tree selected for planting.
- Emerald Green, an arborvitae, is one of the planting options Lee gave our homeowner.
- Dark American, an arborvitae, another planting option Lee gave our homeowner. This tree can be found at a local nursery.
Lee Gilliam points out a key drawback of the Dark American variety: “It has multiple leaders growing up off the tree and then the branches growing off it. Problem with that is, in this region where we are, if you get some heavy wet snow, it can open it up… and then you have to maybe tie them up or maybe have to do some pruning on it.”
Other tools and materials
- Alternatively, a grub axe can be used as well to cut sod by hand.
- A rake is also used to discard material and spread fertilizer.
- An N95 mask was used to mask the smell coming from the roto-tiller. It is also used as a safety precaution, as the dirt and grass can be prevented from entering one’s lungs.
- The Evergreen Arborvitae fertilizer was used by Lee and the homeowner for the best growth possible.
